Texas Republican loses crucial endorsements after controversial rant

EDITOR'S NOTE: Following publication of this story, Kim denied her comments were racist and sued The Texas Tribune for reporting on the scandal.

On Saturday, CNN reported that two Korean-American Republican congresswomen are rescinding their endorsements of Sery Kim for the special election for Texas' 6th Congressional District after she went on a controversial rant against Chinese immigrants at a candidate forum on Wednesday.

"I don't want them here at all," Kim said of Chinese immigrants at the gathering. "They steal our intellectual property, they give us coronavirus, they don't hold themselves accountable. I can say that because I'm Korean."

Kim is a former official for President Donald Trump's Small Business Administration.

"As the first Korean American Republican women to serve in Congress, we want to empower and lift up fellow members of the community who want to serve their communities," said California Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel -- both Republicans -- in a joint statement. "We talked with Sery Kim yesterday about her hurtful and untrue comments about Chinese immigrants, and made clear that her comments were unacceptable."

As of Saturday morning, Kim's website still proudly touts the endorsements of the two congresswomen.

The special election in Texas' 6th District, to replace Rep. Ron Wright who recently died of COVID-19, has become a crowded field. A number of Republicans have jumped in, including Wright's widow Susan, and an infamous former pro wrestler from Nevada who moved to Texas for the run.